Deprivation of British citizenship and withdrawal of passports 9 October 2013 Hilal al-Jedda wins a Supreme Court appeal against deprivation of citizenship, successfully arguing that the order has no effect because it would have left him stateless. Soon afterwards, the Financial Times reports that, in light of the al-Jedda case, the Home Secretary has instructed officials to consider whether it would be possible under international law to withdraw citizenship from terrorism suspects who would be left stateless. 68 The Coalition government tables a new clause to the Immigration Bill then going through Parliament. The Home Office argues “it is not right that a person who has acquired British citizenship – and accepted the rights, responsibilities and privileges that derive from this – can act in a way that threatens the security of the UK and retain British nationality simply because they may be left stateless as a result of deprivation”. Immigration minister Mark Harper says “citizenship is a privilege, not a right”. 69 28 July 2014 Section 66 of the Immigration Act 2014 comes into force. It amends the 1981 Act to make it possible to render people stateless when depriving them of citizenship on the basis that it is conducive to the public good. There are three restrictions on the power to make people stateless. 70 1. It only applies to naturalised citizens. 2. The Home Secretary must be satisfied that the person has conducted themselves in a manner seriously prejudicial to the vital interests of the UK. This is a revival of the previous legal test for deprivation, before the 2006 change, but applied only to cases where the person would become stateless. 3. Third, the Home Secretary must reasonably believe that the person would be able to acquire another nationality. This safeguard is inserted in response to concerns raised in Parliament that people would be left permanently stateless. 71 Correspondence from Home Office ministers about other aspects of the clause during the passage of the bill is deposited in the House of Commons Library. 72 68 69 70 71 72 19 “May bids to make terror suspects stateless”, Financial Times, 11 November 2013 Home Office, Immigration Bill, Fact Sheet: Deprivation of Citizenship (PDF), January 2014 HC Deb 7 May 2014 c191 Immigration Act 2014, section 66 Letter from James Brokenshire to Rt Hon David Hanson (PDF), 20 February 2014, DEP 2014-0262; Letter from Lord Taylor of Holbeach to Rt Hon Baroness Smith of Basildon (PDF), 17 April 2014, DEP 2014-0641 Commons Library Research Briefing, 18 December 2024